Base exchange
Encyclopedia
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
installations, Marine Corps Exchange (MCX) on Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
installations and Coast Guard Exchange (CGX) on Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
installations) is a type of retail store operating on United States military installations worldwide. Originally akin to trading post
Trading post
A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....
s, they now resemble department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
s or strip mall
Strip mall
A strip mall is an open-area shopping center where the stores are arranged in a row, with a sidewalk in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a unit and have large parking lots in front...
s.
Over the next few years, every exchange operated by the Army and Air Force Exchange Service will be rebranded simply as an Exchange (X) to simplify differentiation between the similar sounding BX and PX names.
Service organization
Exchanges on ArmyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
installations are operated by the Army and Air Force Exchange Service
Army and Air Force Exchange Service
The Exchange is an agency of the United States Department of Defense. Its dual missions are to provide quality merchandise and services of necessity and convenience to authorized customers at uniform low prices, and to generate reasonable earnings to supplement appropriated funds for the support...
(AAFES), while those on Navy bases are operated by the Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM), and those on Marine Corps installations are part of Marine Corps Community Services (MCCS), which also runs the rest of Marine MWR
Morale, Welfare and Recreation
Morale, Welfare and Recreation, abbreviated MWR, is a network of support and leisure services designed for use by soldiers , their families, civilian employees, military retirees and other eligible participants....
operations. The Coast Guard Exchange (CGX) operates a handful of stores on Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
installations. Exchanges on joint installations are generally served by the exchanges already operating upon the joining of the existing installations, though some smaller exchanges may close when they can no longer benefit the installation.
Operations
Exchanges sell consumer goods and services to active duty, Reserve, National Guard, and retired United States Uniformed ServicesUniformed services of the United States
The United States has seven federal uniformed services that commission officers as defined by Title 10, and subsequently structured and organized by Title 10, Title 14, Title 33 and Title 42 of the United States Code.-Uniformed services:...
members and their dependents. Authority to use these facilities is normally determined by presentation of the individual's military member or military family member identification (ID) card, either when entering the store or when paying for goods and services.
Shopping privileges are also generally extended in overseas locations to U.S. Government civilian employees and their dependents who are assigned overseas. Shopping privileges can vary overseas according to applicable status-of-forces agreements
Status of Forces Agreement
A status of forces agreement is an agreement between a host country and a foreign nation stationing forces in that country. SOFAs are often included, along with other types of military agreements, as part of a comprehensive security arrangement...
with host nations. A typical exchange is similar to a department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
, but other services such as military clothing sales/uniform shops, barber shops, hair care, beauty, laundry/dry cleaning, gas stations, fast food outlets, convenience stores ("Shoppettes" or "Mini Marts"), beer and wine sales, liquor stores ("Class Six" or "Package Stores"), lawn and garden shops, movie theaters and even vehicle maintenance and repair services are commonly available. Most (but not all) sales by exchanges are free of state and local sales or VAT
Vat
Vat or VAT may refer to:* A type of container such as a barrel, storage tank, or tub, often constructed of welded sheet stainless steel, and used for holding, storing, and processing liquids such as milk, wine, and beer...
taxes as the sales take place on U.S. military reservations (exceptions include gasoline sales in the U.S. and sales by concessionaires licensed by the exchange).
Unlike commissaries
Defense Commissary Agency
The Defense Commissary Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Defense that operates more than 250 commissaries worldwide...
(military grocery stores), exchanges, for the most part, do not receive significant appropriations from the federal government
Federal government
The federal government is the common government of a federation. The structure of federal governments varies from institution to institution. Based on a broad definition of a basic federal political system, there are two or more levels of government that exist within an established territory and...
and must operate on a for-profit basis. With the exception of military personnel assigned to duty with the exchange services, exchange service employees' salaries are paid from revenues generated from sales of merchandise, except for annual raises from funds appropriated by Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
. Exchanges are deemed Category C non-appropriated fund (NAF) activities, meaning they are designed to not only be self-sufficient, but generate a profit.
Of course, exchanges are normally located on military reservations and, as a result, do not pay rent or tax for the use of land. Exchanges' tax-exempt status (as instrumentalities of the U.S. Government) also reduces certain operating expenses. While exchanges must pay for the cost of transporting goods within the continental United States, Congress appropriates funds to subsidize the transportation costs of American merchandise to overseas exchange locations so that such items are available and affordable to personnel stationed overseas.
Overseas exchanges also sell new North American-made vehicles to assigned personnel in cooperation with the "Big Three" automakers (General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
, Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
and Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
) and Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson , often abbreviated H-D or Harley, is an American motorcycle manufacturer. Founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during the first decade of the 20th century, it was one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression...
motorcycles.
AAFES and NEX have also established smaller field exchanges to provide military personnel with comforts and everyday items while deployed, even in combat zones such as Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. NEX also operates small exchanges, known as "ship's stores," onboard seagoing vessels. They are managed and operated by sailors in the Ship's Serviceman
Ship's Serviceman
Ship's Serviceman is a rating in the US Navy.-General information:Ship's servicemen manage and operate shipboard retail and service activities using microcomputers. This includes ship's stores, vending machines and video games, barber shops, laundry and dry cleaning plants, and tailor shops...
rating.
Most profits earned by the exchange services, after paying operating expenses, are used to support community activities aimed at improving morale among service members and their families.
See also
- Defense Commissary AgencyDefense Commissary AgencyThe Defense Commissary Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Defense that operates more than 250 commissaries worldwide...
- Navy, Army and Air Force InstitutesNavy, Army and Air Force InstitutesThe Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes is an organisation created by the British government in 1921 to run recreational establishments needed by the British Armed Forces, and to sell goods to servicemen and their families...